Hope
by Dancingqueen4Life
Summary: Hope is a dangerous thing. It can break your heart in the blink of an eye. But maybe, hope is what you need to get you through the day. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry it's been so long since I wrote something new. I've been pretty sick and couldn't really force myself to do anything other than laying down and watching my DVD of the Les Miserables 25th anniversary edition concert and singing along in my head, since my voice was too pathetic to sing out loud. Honestly, you're all lucky I didn't do a story based on one or more of the songs.  
I got this idea, and decided to maybe rip your hearts out... so here we go. Side note: I have no idea what's going to happen.  
Also, this is likely to be ripe with medical inaccuracies, so bear with me. I'm not a doctor, and this is the first story I've written that deals with this kind of thing this closely.**

* * *

Natasha was sitting on the couch in her and Clint's living room in Avengers Tower with her head in her hands. She'd been through this once before, and that had ended horribly. She wasn't sure she could handle it again.

She was pulled from her thoughts by the elevator dinging, signaling Clint's return from the gym.

"Hey, Tasha." He called out.  
"Tasha?" He tried again when she didn't answer. "Are you here?"  
When he finally entered the living room, he stopped and stared at her. "Did I piss you off again?" He asked playfully.

Natasha raised her head finally, and looked at him with tear filled eyes.

"Tasha, what's wrong?" He asked seriously, dropping his bag and walking across the room to crouch in front of her.

Natasha didn't reply. "Tash, you're scaring me." Clint said as he gently placed his hand on her cheek.

"Clint?" She finally whispered.  
"I'm here, Tasha. Just tell me what's wrong." He pleaded.  
Natasha nodded and took a deep breath before whispering her response. "I'm pregnant."

There was a moment of silence, and then Clint was kissing her enthusiastically.

"Tasha, that's wonderful!" He exclaimed after he broke away, breathing heavily.  
"No, it's not." She replied quietly.  
"What? Tasha, of course it is. We're going to have a baby! Why isn't that wonderful? You told me you wanted a baby."  
"And I did."  
"What changed, Tasha?"  
"What changed?!" She asked incredulously. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe it was the fact that I lost the last baby. Maybe that made me realize that I don't get to have a kid."

Clint softened and brought his other hand up to Natasha's face and stroked her cheekbones softly. "I'm still sad about that, Tasha. But we grieved. We spent nearly a year dealing with the consequences of that. We're allowed to be happy again. It was 2 years ago, Tasha."  
"You got over it, Clint. I never did."  
"You told me you were fine. You told me you'd be OK."  
"I wasn't going to tell you anything else. I wasn't going to tell you that I hated myself, that I felt like a failure."  
"Tasha, it wasn't your fault. Those things happen, there was nothing you could have done."  
"Do you hear yourself, Clint? It wasn't my fault? I _killed _our _baby_, Clint! Of course it was my fault!"  
"No, you didn't. Natasha, I told you that it wasn't your fault, and it's not."  
"That's the thing I'm supposed to be able to give you! You never ask me for anything, and the one thing you want more than anything, I can't give you. I'm your wife! I'm supposed to give you a family!"  
"If that were really all I was ever after, you never would have agreed to marry me. You don't owe me anything."

They sat in silence for a while, just staring at each other. Finally, Natasha decided to ask they question she'd been thinking of for months.

"Why is it so easy for you?"  
"Why is what so easy?"  
"Forgetting what happened. We lost a baby, Clint, and you keep acting like it never happened. Everyone acts like I didn't care, like I'm incapable of caring. But I'm not. You know that better than anyone, and yet you're acting like everything will be fine."  
"Because I don't have another option, Tasha. You know I care, you know how hurt I was, but what was the use of dwelling on it? We couldn't change it, and it was going to hurt more if we kept focusing on it."  
"But it's just going to happen again! We're going to get our hopes up; we'll start talking about names and the future. And then I'll wake up in the middle of the night, lying in a pool of blood, and we'll find out that I killed our baby again! And you might be ok with that, you might be able to deal with that, but I can't! I can't start hoping that we'll finally get to be happy, and have it ripped away again. I'm not strong enough to deal with that!"

Natasha realized that she'd started crying in the middle of her speech, and she wiped furiously at her tears, but more kept falling. Finally she gave up and began sobbing. Clint moved to sit on the couch next to her and pulled her onto his lap. Natasha buried her face in his shoulder as the tears continued to flow.

"I'm sorry, Clint. I'm so sorry."  
"Why are you apologizing, Tasha?"  
"For everything. I know you want this."  
"I do. And I don't want your apology. You've got nothing to be sorry for. Your fears are well founded, but I don't want that to stop us. We lost that baby when we were on our own, but we've got a whole tower of people who will take care of things for us. We have Bruce to make sure that you're ok."  
"But what if everything still goes to hell? What if despite all that, we still lose it. Then what do we do?"  
"That won't happen. But if it does, we'll grieve. And then we'll look into adoption. There are options, Tasha and we'll explore them if we need to."  
"Promise?"  
"Of course. We'll be happy tonight, and tomorrow after breakfast we'll go see Bruce and get his opinion. I don't want to terminate, and I know you don't want to either, but if he says you being pregnant is too dangerous, we'll consider his advice, ok?"

Natasha nodded and curled herself further into Clint's chest. She could do happy for tonight. She couldn't promise happy in the morning, but for now, she could let her happiness out of the box she'd shoved it into.

* * *

The next morning, Natasha and Clint ate breakfast with the group, minus Tony and Bruce who were locked in their respective labs. They remained fairly quiet, but their team was used to that. When they finished, they went back to their floor to get dressed, before asking JARVIS to have Bruce meet them in medical.

Once they received an affirmative reply, they went to the elevator and made their way to the high tech medical wing in the tower. Once the elevator arrived, Natasha took a deep breath and stepped off. Clint grabbed her hand and stopped her mid step. When she turned to face him, Clint wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"I meant what I said, Tasha. You're my main priority. You're the one I can't live without." He whispered into her hair.

Natasha nodded, and leaned into his embrace for a moment before stepping away. Clint smiled at her and grabbed her hand, threading their fingers together. They made their way down the hall to medical and Clint held the door open for her while Natasha stepped through.

Bruce was already there, and he directed them to one of the rooms. Natasha sat on the exam table and Clint stood by her side, refusing to let go of her hand.

"What can I help you with today?" Bruce asked kindly.  
"I'm pregnant." Natasha said.

Bruce nodded but didn't say anything, waiting for Natasha to continue.

"I had a miscarriage 2 years ago, and I'm worried about the same thing happening."  
"Well, I'll take a look at you and see what I can figure out. Do you have any idea how far along you are?"  
"Not really."  
"That's ok. We'll figure that out as well."  
Bruce left the room and returned with a couple machines. "Go ahead and lay back and lift your shirt above your stomach."

Natasha complied and Clint stood by her head and ran his fingers through her hair.

"This is going to be cold, so bear with me." Bruce said before squirting the cool gel onto her stomach. He used the wand from one of the machines and spread the gel around while looking at the screen.

While normal ultrasound machines were grainy and difficult to see things on, the Stark tech in this one provided a clear view into Natasha's uterus.

"Well, I can tell you just from this that the egg has attached properly."

Natasha let out a small sigh of relief. That had been the problem last time. Bruce looked around a bit more, before putting the wand away and handing Natasha a napkin to wipe her stomach with.

Once she was done and sitting upright again, Bruce turned to his teammates. His face was carefully blank, bit Natasha could tell he had bad news.

"Just spit it out, Bruce." She said, gripping Clint's hand tightly.  
"Your uterus is heavily scarred. Far more than I would have expected, even given your proclivity for getting wounded in the abdomen. I'm not going to ask you to share your secrets, because frankly, I don't know that I could handle hearing them. But I want you to understand that you won't make it to full term. I'm optimistic about your chances of delivering this baby, but I'd say your chances of making it past 32 weeks are extremely small."  
"What happens if it's that early?" Clint asked, rubbing circles on the back of Natasha's hand.  
"Anytime after 27 weeks will be an almost guaranteed safe delivery, between 24 weeks to 27 weeks the baby still has a fairly decent shot of being perfectly ok." Bruce replied.  
"And any less than that?" Natasha whispered.  
"I don't want you to worry about that. It's not certain either way, but new technology has made it possible for babies as early as 5 months to have a decent shot at surviving and growing up healthy."  
Natasha nodded and tried not to picture what her baby would look like if it were to be born at 5 months. Clint seemed to know where her mind was headed and squeezed her hand, bringing her back to the present.

"Now, we need to talk about the best way to approach this. You're healthy, which means this poses very little risk to you.  
"I know I probably freaked you out when I mentioned the length of your pregnancy, but I don't even want you to focus on that. There's no danger to you, but the amount of scarring is still a major concern. Because of that, I don't want either of you focusing on long term. We're gonna take this a week at a time. That means weekly visits, possibly daily when you get close to delivery. I want to see you every week, no complaints.  
"You also need to start thinking about how your activities will affect the baby. You're out of the field effective immediately, until _I_ clear you, whether it's in one year or 10 years. Clint, you should consider leaving the field as well, but I can't mandate that. But seriously consider it. Natasha needs to avoid stress starting yesterday, and you being gone, or the potential of you getting called away while she's pregnant won't help with managing her stress.  
"Just because I want you out of the field doesn't mean you can't exercise. Since you already run, you can continue, but you should stop around your 6th month, or whenever it becomes uncomfortable. And I mean uncomfortable for a normal person, not uncomfortable for you."  
Natasha laughed at the last bit, glad that her doctor knew her so well.  
"Food wise, keep it as healthy as you can. But if you're craving something, don't worry about eating it. Cravings are your body's way of telling you what you need to eat more of. So if you need a cheeseburger everyday, go ahead, just don't overdo anything.  
"I think that covers everything, at least for now. I want to see you every Tuesday, but we can change the time as need be. Do you have any questions for me?"  
"When is the risk of miscarriage over?" Natasha asked.  
"Typically, after the first trimester. I don't know how your different physiological make-up will affect that, but I would assume the time frame is the same. Judging by the ultrasound, I'd say your about 2 months along, so you're very nearly past the danger zone."  
"Does she need to be on bed rest?" Clint asked, ignoring the glare Natasha sent his way.

Bruce chuckled. "Not yet. I meant it when I said that everything looks good. Just to prepare you, slight bleeding is typical in about 1/3 of all pregnancies, so don't freak out if you bleed a little. If it seems heavy though, come find here immediately, and have JARVIS track me down."  
"Ok." Natasha said.  
"Is your morning sickness bad?" Bruce asked, having just realized he hadn't gone through the routine questions yet.  
"Not too bad. It's only a few days a week."  
"Ok. Crackers are always easy foods to eat if you find that you can't keep anything down."  
Natasha nodded and allowed Clint to help her down from the table.

"Thank you, Bruce." She said as she opened the exam room door.  
"You're welcome. And guys?" He asked as they turned to leave. "Congratulations." He said when they turned around.  
"Thanks Clint said as they walked out of the room and back to the elevator that would take them back to their floor.

* * *

When they arrived on their floor, Natasha told Clint that she was going to take a bath. He kissed her head as she walked into the bathroom, and once he heard the water start, he made his way through their apartment, cleaning up the clothes and other items that littered their living area. When he was done, he knocked on the bathroom door and opened it after hearing Natasha tell him to come in.

She was sitting in the bathtub with her head leaning back and her eyes closed. A fair amount of bubbles surrounded her, covering most of Clint's favorite parts.

"Hey, gorgeous." He whispered, smiling as she raised her head and opened her eyes.  
"Hey." She whispered back.  
"You hungry?"  
"I guess. You gonna cook?"  
"You might be able to persuade me. What do you want?"  
"Soup."  
"Any particular kind?"  
"Turkey. Do we have any left?"  
"I think there's still some in the main kitchen. I'll go check. I know there's definitely chicken though."  
"If there's no turkey that'll be fine."  
"Alright. Keep soaking, I'll let you know when your food is done."  
"Kay. Thanks, handsome."  
Clint smiled as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and left, closing the door behind him.

30 minutes later, Natasha emerged from the bathroom. She pulled on a pair of Clint's boxers and one of his sweatshirts before making her way out of their bedroom and following the scent of turkey soup to the kitchen.  
"That for me?" She asked, somewhat sleepily.  
"I thought we could share." Clint said as he stood by the stove, ladling soup into bowls.

Natasha made her way to his side and pressed a kiss to the back of his shoulder. Clint set the bowl down and turned to face her, kissing her softly on the lips as his hands went to his waist. Without warning, he lifted her and set her on the counter next to the stove, causing her to squeal in surprise, a noise she'd deny ever making.

Clint handed her a bowl and leaned against the counter next to her, holding his own soup.  
"Have a nice bath?"  
"I did. We're going to need more bubbles soon though."  
"Duly noted. You'll have to wait until it's my turn to go shopping though, since the rest of the guys will buy dish soap for you. And Pepper has refused to do their shopping, so you'd have to talk her into doing ours, I'm sure."  
"I suppose. When is it your turn again?"  
"3 weeks. If it won't last that long I can make an extra trip."  
"You might have to. I'll let you know."  
"Sounds good, beautiful."  
"Why do you do that?"  
"Do what?" Clint asked, confused by the sudden turn in the conversation.  
"Call me gorgeous and beautiful."  
"Because you are." He said, wondering if it was a trick question.  
"But why do you say it?"  
"Honestly?"  
"No, Clint. Please, feel free to lie to my face. We both know how much I _love_ being lied to." She deadpanned.

Clint sighed as he set his bowl down next to her waist. He ran his hand through his spiked hair as he tried to get his thoughts in order.  
"I know that you know you're beautiful. But you know it in the way that helps with your job. And no, this isn't about you seducing people, I've learned to deal with it. Post-mission sex doesn't hurt as a tool to deal with it either."  
Natasha raised an eyebrow at his failed joke, and he chuckled softly.  
"Anyways. People always assume your beauty is used solely to seduce men to get their secrets and then kill them. The rest of the world only calls you beautiful or gorgeous when they see you in dresses that have more holes than Swiss cheese. They only see it when you're working. Hell, even our team doesn't get to see you like I do often.  
"And yeah, I think you're pretty when you have almost no clothes on, and you're putting yourself out there for a mark to see. But that's not you.  
"I know you, better than I know myself, and maybe better than you know yourself. You prefer my clothes," here, he gives her outfit a pointed glance, "to any expensive outfit. You'd much rather wear my boxers and a sports bra than barely-there lingerie, unless it's for me and for something special. You hate wearing make-up, and right now, your hair is the perfect length for you. Short enough to not get in the way when you're fighting, but long enough for it all to fit into a pony tail.  
"So when I see you all dressed up for a mission, yeah you're pretty, but when you're sitting at home with me, wearing nothing but my clothes, or soaking in a tub full of bubbles, when you don't have a trace of make-up on and your hair's in a messy ponytail and you're sitting on the couch reading a book and drinking tea, that's when you're you. And there's nothing more beautiful, more gorgeous, than you being yourself, with no masks, without caring what the outside world thinks."  
Clint finished talking and stared at Natasha's green eyes. She was silent for a moment before she finally spoke.  
"Oh dear _God_. I think I just died from cheese overload!" She joked, but Clint could see the softness in her eyes.  
"Don't mock the cheese." Clint said severely, eyes shining with playfulness.  
They finished their lunch in relative silence and once Clint had cleaned up, Natasha made him carry her to their bedroom. He'd already constructed a nest on their bed, so Natasha was allowed to crawl right in without having to wait like she normally did.

JARIVS was instructed to play the first Indiana Jones, and as the opening credits started, Natasha made up her mind.  
"I want to wait."  
"To do what?" Clint asked, distracted by the lock of her hair he was twirling in his hand.  
"To tell the team. I want to wait until the first trimester is over. I don't want them to know, just in case something happens."  
"Natasha-"  
"I know what you're going to say, Clint. Bruce's words comforted me, but I can't forget what happened. For the next month, I'm still going to worry."  
"Ok. But remember, we're taking this a week at a time."  
"I know. So for this week, we're not going to tell them."  
"Ok. It's a good thing you didn't drink much in front of them."  
"You know why I don't."  
"It's because once you start with the good vodka, you can't stop." Clint joked. Natasha was a true stereotypical Russian, able to drink nearly the entire team under the table, with the exception of Steve- because he couldn't get drunk- and Thor-because as a thousand year-old god, he'd been exposed to stuff much stronger than Earth's alcohol.  
"It's true." Natasha played along. "What can I say? I'm Russian, we like our vodka." She said the last bit with her natural accent bleeding through, and Clint swore there was no prettier sound.

Once the movie started they settled down and watched it in relative silence, followed by the next two, stopping only long enough to make a quick dinner and bring it back to the bedroom.  
Toward the end of the third movie, Clint grabbed their dirty dishes and took them back to the kitchen where he placed them in the dishwasher. When he returned to their bedroom, Natasha was curled around the spot he'd vacated, eyes closed and breathing steady. Clint couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he watched her sleeping form.

He instructed JARVIS to turn off the movie and crawled into bed next to Natasha.  
"Clint?"  
"Shh, go to bed, Tash."  
"'Kay." She replied as she pulled his sweatshirt over her head and tossed it onto the floor. Clint shook his head slightly at the sight of his wife in a pair of his boxers and a sports bra. He leaned in and kissed her goodnight before fitting himself behind her back, allowing his arm to drape over her abdomen so his hand could rest on her stomach.  
"I love you, Tasha. We'll make it through this, you'll see." With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

**There you go. I've read quite a few stories where Natasha gets pregnant, and then she loses the baby.  
Apparently this is going to be longer than I'd planned, but oh well. It was going to be a super long one-shot, but I suppose chapters would work better.  
Hopefully the medical stuff was ok. I've never been pregnant, so I'm getting my information where I can. The time frame for preemies having a fighting chance I got from Grey's Anatomy, so I don't know if it's right. I read the thing about cravings online somewhere on a random fact website. The only bit I know for sure is true is the bit where it's ok to eat cheeseburgers nearly everyday, because that's what my mom did when she was pregnant with me, and we're both perfectly fine now.  
Alright, I'm done rambling. Thanks for reading, I love all you guys.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the delay, I got distracted. But I'm back now, and I have a new chapter. Also, I still font know where this is going, so let's see what happens this chapter.**

* * *

The first week passed relatively quickly and easily. The Avengers weren't called out on any missions, so Clint and Natasha didn't have to figure out an excuse yet. They managed to go about their lives just as they had been, and if any of their teammates noticed that Natasha didn't spar anymore, or that Clint always seemed to be hovering, they didn't say anything about it.

After her second appointment with Bruce, he told her that everything looked good for where she was, but he still didn't want her to think too far ahead. It was slightly difficult to hear her doctor say something like that, but Natasha took it in stride. Their lives were good, easy almost.

So naturally, something important came up with SHIELD that needed their attention.

Fury called all of the Avengers to the floor in the tower that had been designed for debriefs that couldn't take place at HQ or on the hellicarrier.

"What's this about, Eye patch?"

Fury didn't respond to Tony's nickname, but he threw a folder in Clint's direction.

"Winter Soldier has finally been cleared out of Barnes' head. Luckily, Barnes remembers all the important information from his time in the Red Room."

While he'd been speaking, Natasha carefully slid the folder closer to herself so she could have a look. She opened it while pretending to be listening to Fury. But the name on the file caught her by surprise.

"No." She said, louder than she'd intended.  
"I'm sorry, Agent Romanoff?" Fury asked.  
"No. You want Clint to take him out. No. He'll get killed."  
"Agent Barton is perfectly capable of taking out Red Guardian." Fury responded, trying to placate Natasha.  
"It's not Clint I'm worried about." Natasha shot back.  
"Nat," Clint whispered softly. "I'll be fine."  
"You don't get it, do you?"  
"Get what, Agent?" Fury asked, wondering if she'd left something out during one of her many interrogations after Clint had originally brought her in.  
"Shostakov is a monster."  
"He's killed monsters before." Steve said, trying to help.  
"That's not the point!" Natasha exploded.  
"Natasha," Bruce warned calmly.  
"Shut up, Bruce." Natasha turned to Steve, and Clint hoped she wouldn't scare him too much.  
"You don't know what he's capable of, Captain. You don't know what he's done."  
"But I do, Nat." Clint said quietly, taking her hand in his. He turned her head until she looked at him and when she did, her features softened.  
"I know what he did. I know what he's capable of. I asked to be given this assignment if it ever came up. I know I can take care of this."

Natasha didn't respond for a while. When she did, only Clint was expecting her response.  
"If you're not going to come home unscathed, don't bother coming home at all." With that, Natasha ripped her hand from his and left the room quickly. The team stared after her in shock, but Clint just smiled softly. He grabbed the folder and followed his wife from the room.

As he predicted, Natasha was sitting on the roof, waiting for him. When he arrived, he walked over to her and sat down, wrapping his arm around her when she leaned in to him.

"I didn't mean what I said. I want you to come home, no matter what."  
"I know. I'll find a way."  
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Natasha said softly.  
"I never do."  
"Clint-"  
"Relax, Tasha. I'll be ok."  
"I'm still not sure you know what he can do to you."  
"Maybe not as well as you do. But I know what he did to you. After you first told me, I swore to myself that if I ever had the opportunity to kill him, I would."  
"Clint, honestly, do you think you have any kind of a shot?"  
"I do. You know I wouldn't have taken this job if I didn't think I had a decent shot of killing him."  
"It's not that simple."  
"Tasha-"  
"No, Clint. I want him gone, you should know that more than anyone. But I don't want you to be the one to do it. I'm supposed to be avoiding stress, and this certainly won't help."  
"Don't bring that up, Tasha. You know I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."  
"You sure as hell aren't acting like it."

They were both yelling now, but neither could find it in themselves to care.  
"Just stop it, Tasha. I've already made up my mind. I'm going to take Shostakov out, and you won't be able to stop me."  
"Why is it so God damn important to you?" Natasha yelled.  
"He raped you, Tasha!" Clint nearly shouted, not thinking that any of their teammates might be able to hear.  
"I know, Clint. I was there. I was the one who had to live through his punishments, not you. I was the one who tried to kill people in the perfect way just to avoid being punished, not you. I know what he did to me, I had to suffer through it. But it's in the past."  
"Really? Is that why I hear you screaming in your sleep for him to stop? I'm almost positive that means it's not in the past."  
Natasha froze. She knew she still had nightmares about what Alexei did to her, but she didn't think she'd been crying out in her sleep.  
Clint noticed her reaction, and kept talking. "That's right, I wake up to the sound of you screaming for him to stop hurting you. I hear it so frequently that it's started becoming one of my nightmares. Do you have any idea how helpless I felt when you told me about your punishments?"  
"I didn't tell you so that you could pity me!" Natasha shrieked.  
"I know that, Nat. But that doesn't change anything."  
"You're being ridiculous."  
"Of course. I'm the one being ridiculous. I've been waiting to take this mission for _years_. So give me one good reason why I shouldn't accept it."  
Natasha turned away slightly but didn't answer.  
"I mean it, Tasha. Give me one good reason why I should let this scum be taken out by someone else, when we both know I'm one of two people who actually has a shot at taking him out."  
Natasha still didn't answer. Clint had had enough of her doubting him, and decided to give her some time alone.  
"Whatever, Tasha. I leave in the morning. Come say goodbye if you want to. Otherwise, I just don't have the energy to care right now."  
Clint had been expecting her to answer his question at that, but she was still silent. He sighed and shook his head before walking past toward the door to go back inside.

"I can't lose you." Natasha whispered just as his hand reached out for the handle.  
Clint stopped, but didn't turn around. He could feel Natasha's eyes on him as she continued.  
"I haven't let myself get close to many people, not since they killed my parents. But you wormed your way in. I'm still not sure how, but you did."  
Clint turned around and saw that Natasha was staring at him, her eyes filling with tears.  
"I haven't let myself care about anyone because everyone I've ever cared about has either tried to kill me or been killed. I know you'd never try to kill me, so that leaves only one option. You can't go because I can't lose you. I'm barely human as it is, but if something happened to you, and it was because of me- no matter how small the connection was- I'd never forgive myself.  
"So I'm begging you, Clint. Please, _please, _don't go. Let someone else take him out. Please just stay home with us."

When Natasha finished speaking, she hurriedly wiped away the few tears that had leaked out of her eyes. She stared at Clint for a while, and he stared back. After what felt like years, Clint spoke.  
"It's not going to happen like that for us, Tasha. I won't let it. I will fight tooth and nail to get back to you both, after I've killed the man that helped break you. YOu need peace from this, from him. That's what I'm doing. You'll be able to sleep at night without worrying that he'll show up and hurt you."  
Clint pulled Natasha into his arms and held her tightly. They were quiet for a few minutes, before Natasha tried one more time to get him to stay.  
"He's not human, Clint. I know you think I'm not, that Barnes isn't, but we are. Barnes came back to the U.S. because the brainwashing stopped working perfectly and he was able to remember bits of his old life. I defected because I knew it was the only way out of the hell-hole I'd been thrown into.  
"But Shostakov, he's nowhere near that. He lives and breathes for the Red Room. He's their puppet through and through. He honestly thinks that what they do is right, and there's no way to convince him otherwise. Don't pull one of your shitty 'Their-situation-hurts-my-heart' moves and try to bring him in. He'll do whatever he has to do to ensure the continuation of the Red Room."  
"I know, Tasha. Honestly I do."

Natasha nodded and buried her face in Clint's shoulder.  
"Please come home then, Clint. I can't do this without you."  
"I will, Tash. But please take care of yourself. Listen to Bruce, even if you don't really want to. I'll be home in a few weeks, and we can finally tell them."  
Natasha nodded, and a thought struck her. "I'm not telling them until you come home. Whether it's 2 weeks or 2 months. I'm not going to tell them until you're home."  
Clint smiled, "Ok, fair enough. Come on, let's go back inside. We'll watch a movie and I'll cook for you. We'll spend the night alone, and then I'll go monster hunting."  
Natasha finally cracked a smile, even if it was tiny. Clint laced their fingers together and led her back inside and to their floor. They watched Disney movies and ate spaghetti for the rest of the night, both studiously ignoring the fact that Clint had to leave in the morning.

* * *

**There's the next bit. Hopefully you guys don't mind the drama too much. I know Natasha might seem really out of character, but I guess the pregnancy hormones are hitting her early.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Clint was two weeks late. There was no other way for Natasha to think about it. He'd been gone for an entire month, and there had been no sign of him since the night before he went missing.  
Needless to say, Natasha wasn't taking it well.  
"Natasha, your blood pressure is really high. I need you to calm down."  
"You say that like it's easy, Bruce." Natasha hissed through gritted teeth.  
"I know you're worried-"  
"Stop right there, Bruce." Natasha said. "You don't know the first thing about how I'm feeling. The thought of raising this baby _with _Clint is terrifying enough. The possibility- no matter how remote it is- of doing this _without_ Clint is downright impossible. So I won't calm down until I have Clint by my side again."  
"What about behind you?" A voice asked from behind her.  
Natasha whipped around and glared at the man standing behind her. Natasha jumped down from the exam table and ran at him, slapping him across the face.  
"Clinton Francis Barton!" She shrieked. "You are a rat bastard! You can't just go off grid like that! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"  
"Tasha, I-"  
"Shut up! I'm not done talking yet! You can't just go off grid and make me think you were _dead_ and then show up here like nothing happened to you!"  
Natasha finished yelling at Clint and without warning threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Clint tried to wrap his arms around Natasha's waist, but the strength with which she was hugging him was pressing into one of his bruises and moving his arms was damn near excruciating.  
Natasha felt him tense and she pulled away slightly, looking over his features for the first time since he'd returned.  
"What did they do to you?" She asked, tracing his cheek with her thumb.  
"I'm fine." He said. Natasha rested her hand on his chest and pressed lightly. Clint hissed through his teeth at the pain, even though she wasn't pressing very hard.  
"Right, you're fine." She said, giving him a look.  
Clint sighed. "I was blown. They got me leaving the rooftop and took me to their facility. It took me nearly two weeks to escape. Then I got back as soon as I could. I came here as soon as my debrief was finished."  
Natasha looked Clint over thoroughly and finally nodded slowly. She moved her hands to the hem of his t-shirt and started tugging it up.  
"Tash, what are you doing?"  
"Bruce is going to look you over and make sure nothing is serious."  
"Tasha, I'm fine. Just a bunch of bruises. I just want to go upstairs and sleep."  
"Clint, please." Natasha whispered.  
Clint stared at her for a long moment. Her green eyes remained locked with his blue eyes, refusing to blink or look away.  
"Alright." Clint finally whispered. Natasha finished pulling his shirt off. His chest was littered with black and blue bruises, the sight of which caused Natasha to nearly throw up.  
Bruce had him sit down on the table and began gently prodded the bruises. Natasha held his hand tightly and tried not to wince at the pained noises escaping his mouth.  
"Well, it looks like nothing more serious than the bruises. It feels like one of your bruises is cracked, but I'm sure you've had experience with those."  
Clint nodded, shooting a smirk at Natasha, but she refused to look at him.  
"Just keep away from strenuous activities for a little while." Bruce advised, holding Clint's shirt out to him. Clint took it with a smile but didn't put it on.  
"Thanks Bruce." Natasha whispered.  
Bruce nodded and left the room, leaving Clint and Natasha alone.  
"Tasha-" Clint started, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.  
"Not here." She whispered. Clint nodded and stood up, holding his hand out for Natasha to take. She smiled as she laced their fingers together and led him from the room. They walked to the elevator in silence, taking comfort in the fact that they were together again. The elevator ride was just as quiet as the walk down the hall, at least, it was quiet until the elevator opened and Tony stepped on.  
"Hey Spidey. Legolas, nice to see you again." Tony said. "This a new fashion? Walking around shirtless?"  
"Huh? Oh, no. Just didn't put it back on."  
"Why?"  
Clint huffed a laugh and gestured to the technicolor pattern on his chest. "Kinda hurts to move."  
"So I guess that means you two won't be doing anything kinky." Tony said with a suggestive wink.  
"Can it, Stark." Natasha hissed.  
"Does that mean we can rule out baby hawks?" Tony asked.  
Clint opened his mouth to reply, but Natasha shoved an elbow into his side. "That's exactly what it means, Stark." Natasha replied, ignoring Clint's slightly pained noise.  
Tony was about to make another comment when the doors opened on his floor, revealing a slightly annoyed looking Pepper.  
"Tony!" She called, her face calm but her voice showing her annoyance.  
"Gotta go." Tony replied before running from the elevator.  
"Go easy on him, Pepper!" Natasha called, shooting a smirk at her new friend.  
"Not likely!" Pepper called. "Glad you're back, Clint!" She called before the doors closed. Clint nodded in response as the elevator started up again.  
When they arrived to their floor, Natasha led Clint to the bedroom where she grabbed a pair of boxers for him and another pair for herself along with a black sports bra.  
When she was done, she nudged him toward the bathroom where she started the shower and gestured for him to strip. Clint complied while Natasha did the same. She nudged him under the hot spray and followed a few steps behind him. She grabbed the body wash and began gently washing his back. As she worked, she pressed kisses to the bruises and scars littering his back. When she was done, she turned him around to rinse off his back while she washed his front. When she was satisfied that his body was clean, she started washing his hair. She scraped her fingers along his scalp, wrenching pleased groans from his throat. She gingerly tipped his head back and ran her fingers through his hair until the water ran clean.  
When he was thoroughly cleaned, he held her shoulders lightly and switched places with her.  
"Clint-"  
"Shh, Tasha. Let me do this for you."  
Natasha nodded, a smile tugging at her lips.  
Clint went through the same process Natasha had put him through, adding a massage to the body wash. When she was clean Clint took his time washing her hair, running his fingers through it and savoring the feel of her hair sliding through his fingers.  
When he was done, he rinsed her hair, peppering her face with kisses.  
Before Natasha had any idea what was going on, Clint had dropped to his knees in front of her.  
"Clint? What are you doing?"  
Instead of responding, Clint just smiled up at her before pressing a soft kiss to her slight baby bump. He rested his hands on either side of the bump, stroking gently.  
"Hi, baby." He murmured. "I missed you while I was gone. Were you nice to your mama?"  
"Perfect." Natasha answered for the baby. "Although I probably wasn't the best mother in the world. Bruce wasn't very pleased with my blood pressure."  
"I bet." Clint murmured against her bump. He pressed another kiss to her stomach before rising to his feet. He kissed Natasha gently, resting his hands on her hips. When they pulled apart Clint reached behind her to turn off the water. He grabbed a fluffy towel and wrapped it around her shoulders, earning an eye roll for his trouble. He chuckled as he kissed her forehead before drying off quickly and pulling on his boxers. Natasha put on her sports bra and the other pair of boxers before allowing Clint to lead her into the bedroom. They went to the bed where Clint tugged Natasha down next to him. She rested her head on his chest and traced over his chest with her index finger.  
"That tickles, Tash." Clint whispered, placing a hand over hers and holding it flat against his chest, directly over his heart.  
They remained silent for a while, before Natasha spoke again.  
"I'm pregnant."  
Clint smiled at her. "I know."  
"No, Clint. I'm _still_ pregnant. I didn't kill the baby yet. We can finally tell the team."  
Clint sighed. "You didn't kill the baby last time, Tasha. Please stop saying you did."  
Natasha nodded against his chest. "Are you happy?" She whispered.  
"I am." Clint said as he leaned down to kiss her head. "Do you want to tell the team?"  
"Tomorrow. They'll be annoyed we waited this long."  
"They'll understand why."  
Natasha nodded again. "So we're doing this?" She asked finally.  
Clint took his hand from hers and placed it gently on her bump. "I want to." He replied simply.  
"Ok, then. We'll tell them at breakfast tomorrow."  
"Do we have to tell them straight out?" Clint asked.  
"How else do you suggest we do it?" She asked.  
"Subtlety is always fun."  
Natasha smiled. "It is, isn't it?"  
Clint kissed her head and muttered an affirmative.  
"Get some sleep, Hawkboy. Tomorrow the fun and games start." Natasha said before pulling herself up to kiss his lips. She rolled over so that her back was to him and tugged his hand until he scooted behind her. He wrapped his left arm around her waist while his right arm was wedged in the slight space between where her head hit the pillow and her shoulder hit the bed. He splayed his left hand over her stomach and rubbed softly. He kissed the back of her neck while breathing in the scent of her shampoo.  
"I love you, Tasha." he murmured before closing his eyes and allowing sleep to take over.

* * *

"You sure about this?" Clint asked the next morning.  
"Positive. It'll be fun." Natasha replied, kissing his lips. The elevator arrived at the common area and they stepped out. Steve and Bruce were already in the kitchen, and Natasha heard Tony and Pepper approaching. Seconds later they entered the kitchen, bickering over Stark Industries business as usual.  
"Hi guys." Clint called. "Trouble in paradise?"  
"Shut up, Birdbrain." Tony said.  
Clint shrugged and wrapped an arm around Natasha's shoulders. She leaned into his embrace and laid her head on his shoulder. Clint smiled at her and kissed her forehead before getting up.  
He put water in the kettle and set it to boil on the stove. Then he grabbed their respective mugs and put a tea bag in Natasha's while he filled his with coffee. When the water was done, Clint poured it into her mug and set it in front of her with a smile. Natasha wrapped one hand around the mug and used the other to swirl the tea bag around.  
"No coffee, Natasha?" Steve asked kindly. "I thought you lived off the stuff."  
Natasha smiled and shrugged. "Caffeine isn't so good for me right now." She said. It wasn't entirely true, but she was being subtle, and telling them that the scent of coffee, which really was her main sustenance, made her feel like puking wasn't going to be very subtle.  
Pepper gave her a calculating look at her response. Natasha met her glance and smiled, causing Pepper to gasp and her eyes to widen.  
"What?" Tony asked.  
Pepper looked at Natasha and the latter shook her head slightly, a smile playing at the edges of her lips.  
"Nothing." Pepper said. Tony shrugged but didn't press the issue. Clint caught the look Bruce was giving him and nodded slightly, smiling at the doctor. Bruce returned the nod and stood up.  
"Tony, why don't you make yourself useful and come help me with breakfast?"  
"Do I have to?" Tony whined.  
"Yes." Pepper and Bruce replied at the same time. Tony sighed but didn't argue, following Bruce to the stove where he set about scrambling eggs. Pepper pulled out her Blackberry and began going through messages. Steve was engrossed in the paper, so Clint took the opportunity to stand behind Natasha and rest his hands on her stomach. Her bump was still small enough that Clint's old sweatshirt she was wearing covered it, and any other outward sign that she was pregnant.  
Natasha leaned back into his embrace, turning her head and smiling up at him from where her head rested in the crook of his neck.  
"Eww. Get a room, love birds." Tony called to them, causing Steve to look up from the paper and look over to where they stood. His eyes widened with surprise when he caught sight of where Clint's hands were and the small circles they were making.  
"Be quiet, Tony." Steve called, not taking his eyes from the couple next to him.  
They heard Tony grumble something, but paid no mind to what he was actually saying. Clint gave Natasha one last kiss before pulling away and taking his seat beside her. At that moment, Bruce and Tony finished cooking and brought the bacon and eggs to the table where everyone began serving themselves.  
When the food was gone, individual conversations broke out. Steve and Pepper about some business or other, Natasha and Bruce about books they'd both read, and the benefits of reading a book in the native language or a translated one. Clint and Tony were throwing insults back in forth instead of really talking, but based on the smiles crossing their faces, they were enjoying discovering who could be more inventive.  
At one point, Pepper and Natasha locked eyes, and Natasha nodded.  
"So, Tasha." Pepper said, smiling at her friend and causing the other conversations to stop.  
"Hmm?"  
"When are you due?"  
"Due for what?" Tony asked.  
"6 months or so. Although it's likely to only be another few." Natasha replied.  
Pepper was surprised by the answer, that much was obvious. "Really?"  
"Anywhere after 7 is lucky. 9 is impossible." Natasha replied, earning a nod from Bruce.  
"Are you sure?" Steve asked.  
"Sure about what? What's going on?" Tony asked.  
"I am. In all honesty, I've been told that any time after 6 will be considered full for me."  
"Will you be safe?" Steve asked, earning a smile from Natasha for his concern.  
Clint held Natasha's hand on the table while is other hand rested on her stomach, rubbing soothing circles into the sweatshirt.  
"I've been assured I will be."  
"Alright, someone please tell me what's going on." Tony said, exasperation evident in his tone.  
"Natasha's pregnant." Steve said simply. "Is there anything you need us to do?" He asked her, ignoring Tony's reaction.  
"No, but thank you. Really, as long as I stay calm, everything will be fine. Right, Bruce?"  
Bruce nodded, but before he could speak, Tony cut in.  
"I'm sorry, did you say Spidey's pregnant?"  
"I did." Steve affirmed.  
"And you all knew?"  
"We did." Pepper said, trying not to laugh at her boyfriend's confusion.  
"How long have you known?"  
"Only a month." Bruce answered.  
"Only?" Tony asked.  
"I'm only three and a half moths along." Natasha said.  
Tony glared at her. "That doesn't make it any better. Why didn't you say something sooner?"  
Clint's hand tightened on hers, but Natasha pretended not to notice. "I miscarried a few years ago. I wanted to make sure it didn't happen again." Natasha said simply.  
"Oh, Tasha." Pepper gasped.  
Natasha just shook her head, and Pepper dropped the subject.  
Tony, however, wasn't so smart.  
"If you're only three months along, why wouldn't you be due in 6 months?" He asked.  
Natasha sighed. This had been why she didn't want to tell them without Clint.  
"I have a lot of scar tissue, it makes having a baby very dangerous."  
"Scar tissue from what?" Steve asked.  
"Do you know what I do for a living, Steve?" Natasha asked. "Getting punched over and over in the stomach isn't conducive to keeping a uterus healthy.  
Steve blushed and looked down at his plate.  
"But surely that wouldn't be enough, would it?" Tony asked.  
"Not usually, no." Natasha replied, focusing intently on Clint's hand in hers.  
"But?" Pepper hedged.  
"But That's not all that caused it."  
"What else was there?" Tony asked.  
Natasha took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Just when everyone thought she wasn't going to tell them anything, Natasha spoke.  
"The Red Room wasn't the best place to grow up. I underwent numerous scientific experiments as punishments for various transgressions. The result was intense scar tissue making it nearly impossible for me to get pregnant, and extremely dangerous for me if it were to happen."  
The group was silent after that, processing what she'd just told them.  
"Wow." Pepper said.  
The team nodded, but didn't say anything else. Finally, Tony spoke.  
"Bruce is taking care of you, right?"  
"Yeah." Natasha said.  
"Ok." Tony said. "Well, we'll all help however we can, both before and after the mini assassin is born."  
Natasha nodded, smiling at the people around her.  
After another few minutes, Pepper stood up to leave for work and Steve headed down to the gym. Bruce took care of the dirty dishes while Clint and Natasha went to the common area to watch a movie.  
"That was fun." Clint murmured into Natasha's hair as they sat down.  
"It was, wasn't it?" She replied.  
Clint smiled as he pulled Natasha onto his body, letting her lay down on him, resting her head in the crook of his neck.  
"Thank you for coming home, Clint." Natasha whispered.  
"Always, Tasha." He whispered back.  
"Clint-" Natasha started.  
"Don't, Tasha. I know nothing's certain. But for now, we're both out of the field. If I can't say it now, when can I?"  
Natasha smiled as she kissed his neck. "I guess now is fine."  
Clint stroked her stomach as he rested his hand on her head.  
"I love you, Tasha."  
"Love you too, Clint."  
When Bruce came in an hour later to check on them, he found the two assassins sleeping soundly on the couch with the movie playing quietly in the background. Bruce smiled at them as he covered them with a blanket before leaving the room. He knew Tony was the only one who would bother them, so he went off to see if he could keep the genius busy for a while. After all, assassins deserved sleep, didn't they?

* * *

**Sorry it's been so long since I updated! I hope this makes up for it, at least somewhat.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Tasha, are you bringing the food or what?" Clint called.  
Natasha chuckled while she rolled her eyes. She grabbed the bowl and dumped the popcorn into it, then she grabbed the pretzels and mini marshmallows and added them.  
"I'm coming, Hawkboy. Be patient." She called back.  
Natasha was walking from the kitchen back to their living room when she felt something move sharply in her abdomen.  
"Oh!" She gasped, stopping in her tracks.  
"Tash? You ok in there?" Clint asked, coming into the hall. "Hey, sweetie, you ok?" He asked, taking the bowl from her hands and placing it on the side table.  
Natasha didn't reply, and it worried Clint.  
"Tasha, please. Talk to me."  
"Baby."  
"Yeah? I'm here."  
"Not you. Baby."  
"What's wrong? Are you ok? Do you need to go see Bruce? Are you-"  
"Shh." Natasha hissed, shutting Clint up instantly. When she didn't continue, Clint's mind went back to the worst case scenarios.  
"Tasha, _please_." He pleaded.  
"Baby. Moved." Natasha whispered.  
Clint's face broke into a smile as his hand went to cover the one Natasha had placed on her stomach.  
"Really? Is she still kicking?"  
Natasha finally seemed to break out of her reverie and she intwined their fingers as she smiled at him.  
"No. It was just one." She replied, not missing how his smile faltered slightly. "She'll keep kicking, Clint." She replied.  
Clint sighed. "I know. Wait, why is it 'she'? You go see Bruce without me?"  
"No. I just thought 'It' was wrong."  
Clint laughed. "I guess you have a point. Come on, lets go sit down."  
Natasha nodded and grabbed the bowl before following Clint into the living room. He sat down before tugging her next to him, allowing her to lean against his side. The popcorn was placed in between them so they could both reach, and Clint rested his hand on Natasha's bump after starting the movie.  
Halfway through the movie, Natasha noticed that Clint was rubbing her stomach and tapping it every so often.  
"Clint?"  
"Hmm?"  
"What are you doing?"  
"Huh?"  
"You're not going to make the baby kick by tapping my stomach."  
"I don't know what you're talking about." Clint said before tapping her stomach again.  
"Clint, I swear to God. Tap my stomach one more time, I dare you." Natasha growled.  
Clint retracted his hand immediately, as though it had been bitten. Just because she was pregnant didn't mean she wouldn't make good on her threat.  
"I didn't mean you had to take your hand away." She said, her voice slightly petulant.  
"Well, what do you want?" Clint asked, confused.  
"You can rub, I actually enjoy it. I just don't want you agitating the baby, it can't possibly be good for her."  
Clint wanted to say something, but he didn't want it to come across badly. Instead, he rested he hand on her stomach and rubbed in large, gentle circles.  
"Much better." Natasha nearly purred.  
Clint smiled as he kissed her cheek.

"Is the baby kicking again yet?" Clint asked a few minutes later.  
Natasha huffed a laugh. "No, Clint, she's not. Be patient."  
"I'm sorry. I just-"  
"Want to feel the baby?" Natasha asked.  
"Yeah."  
"You'll feel it soon enough. It's bound to happen again." Natasha reminded him.

"What was it like?" Clint asked later.  
"What was what like?" Natasha asked, eyes locked on the movie.  
"Feeling her kick." Clint said.  
"It was... It was wonderful. It was a shock, but it was one of the best feelings I've ever had. It..." Natasha paused, giving Clint an uncertain look.  
"It what?" He asked. "You can tell me, Tash." Clint said.  
"It made me so happy. I'd been thinking that she should have been kicking at least a little bit now, and was getting worried that I hadn't felt anything. But feeling that one kick, it just reminded me that she's still alive. She's still there. I'd been feeling like it was all a dream, but that moment, it just made everything feel more real. We still have a shot at this working out."  
Clint watched her as she spoke. When a single tear slipped free, he reached out and wiped it away with his thumb.  
"Is it too early to blame the hormones for making me all sappy?" Natasha asked when Clint didn't respond.  
Clint laughed as he shook his head. "No, it's not too early."  
"Good. Is it too early to go to bed?" Natasha asked.  
"No. You tired?"  
"Exhausted." She confirmed.  
"Come on, let's go to bed." Clint said, getting up off the couch and holding his hands out for Natasha. Instead of taking his hands, she just looked at him.  
"What? I'm not saying your incapable of getting up on your own. I was just offering a hand."  
"Do I have to walk?" Natasha asked, her voice extremely close to a whine.  
"As opposed to...?"  
"Can't you just carry me?" She asked, definitely whining now.  
Clint smiled, stooping slightly to pick Natasha up and settle her in his arms. When they got to their bedroom, Natasha had just enough energy to take off her clothes before collapsing in just the sports bra and panties she'd worn that day. Clint smiled as he changed into his pajamas and climbed into the bed with her. He wrapped his arms around her and was out a few moments later.

* * *

Natasha woke up later, uncertain of what exactly had woken her up. As she came more to herself, she realized it was still dark out, so it wasn't time to wake up. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard the voices. Or voice to be more exact. Just as she was about to ask Clint who he was talking to, she felt his hands come to rest on her abdomen.  
He was talking to the baby.  
The thought made Natasha smile, and she decided to pretend to be asleep in order to hear what he was saying.  
"I know it's kind of early for me to be talking to you, baby bird. But I just couldn't help myself."  
Clint was silent for a while, just stroking her stomach. Finally, he spoke again.  
"You had your mama worried for a little bit. We're actually both worried about you. Your uncle Bruce says you'll be born early, which means you'll be small, and that really scares us. I don't know how much control you have over this kind of thing, baby bird, but can you stay in there as long as possible? Just to make us feel better. Don't get me wrong, we want to meet you, but the longer you stay in there, the safer you'll be."  
There was another pause, and then Clint was speaking again.  
"When you do show up though, you're gonna have a great family. Your Uncle Bruce has already been taking care of you. He's real nice, as long as he doesn't get too angry, but I doubt he'll get mad at you. Your Uncle Steve is still kinda outta his depth, since he's from a different time period and all, but he's a great guy, and you'll have loads of fun with him. Your Uncle Tony's going to be the one you'll probably end up liking the most, unless you're just like your mama- not that I'd mind. He's actually really fun, and he's good at blowing stuff up, but I don't want you around that until you're at least 5. Your Aunt Pepper is the one that keeps us all sane. She's strict, but she knows how to have fun, especially with your mama."  
Clint paused just long enough to kiss Natasha's stomach before continuing.  
"And your mama, baby bird. I don't even know how to describe her. She's fantastic, she really is. She's absolutely perfect. She might seem a little tough, but once you get to know her, she's really just a softie. And she has this smile, one she saves just for me- and probably you too, once you get here- and it just makes her face light up. She's seen and done some horrible things, but her smile makes her seem like a little girl again. The way her eyes light up- I'm telling you, baby bird, there's nothing I'd rather see. You're going to love her, I promise. And she'll love you. Heck, we both already love you so much. We don't even really know you, and we'd already do anything for you."  
Clint heaved a sigh and Natasha was surprised to hear his breath catch slightly.  
"I just want you to be safe and healthy, baby bird. I was so worried when your mama told me about you. We were going to have another baby a couple years ago, but we lost it, and I was so worried it would happen again, or that I'd lose her too. I didn't know how to tell her about my fears, so I didn't. I just let her see how excited I was- because I was absolutely thrilled- but inside I was all kinds of torn up. I didn't think- don't think, actually- that either of us could survive losing another baby. So please, baby bird, please, stay in there for another few months. move around all you want, because I know your mama will pretend to be annoyed, when really she'll be grateful to know you're still there. Just please, don't come too soon. Stay safe, baby bird. Papa loves you."  
With a final kiss in the center of her bump, Clint crawled up the bed again, until he was lying next to Natasha. He twitched slightly in surprise when he realized she was awake, but he wrapped his arms around her, so she knew he wouldn't be upset.  
"Is this what you've been reduced to, Romanoff? Got taken out of the field, so you're left with no option but to spy on your husband's private conversations?"  
"It's hardly private, considering you know I'm a light sleeper, and your conversation was taking place with the human growing in my stomach."  
Clint hummed in agreement while he pressed a kiss to her head. "Point." He said simply.  
They were silent until Clint spoke again. "I'm going to be making a thing out of this, just so you know."  
"Thing out of what?"  
"Talking to the baby. I hear it's normal for fathers."  
"I've heard that too. We might need to work on nicknames though."  
"What? You don't like baby bird?"  
"What if it's not a boy?"  
"Girls can be birds too, Tasha." Clint replied, the _duh_ clear in his tone. "Besides, baby spider is too scary."  
"What?"  
"Black Widows eat their offspring, or something like that. And I don't want to imagine that in our family."  
Natasha rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped.  
"I meant it, Tasha, every word."  
"Meant what?"  
"I was scared, hell, I still am. But I'm also really happy."  
"I know, Clint. I never thought you weren't."  
Clint nodded and shifted slightly, curling himself around Natasha.  
"Get some sleep, Hawkboy." Natasha said, kissing his chest where her head was pressed against it.  
"'Mmkay. You too, Tash."  
Natasha felt another smile crossing her lips as she gave him one last kiss before drifting into sleep, pictures of what their baby would look like floating through her thoughts. She didn't know when they'd be seeing their baby bird, but in that moment, Natasha decided she was ready, and she was excited.

* * *

**Kind of a weird ending, I know. Aside from that, though, was it ok? I had an idea of how I was going to write this whole story, but it kind of went out the window, so now every chapter is going to be whatever. Some may be long, some may be short. Actually, most of them will be short, since I'm trying not to have too much drama going on, since that's bad for Natasha. But I digress.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

"Alright, Natasha. You know the drill. Shirt up, please." Bruce said, smiling at his friends.  
Natasha returned the smile and sat on the exam table while Clint stood by her head. She lifted her shirt so that it was resting just under her bra before reaching out to twine her fingers with Clint's. Clint smiled down at her and kissed her temple.  
Bruce came over and squirted the gel onto Natasha's stomach. She was used to the cool temperature by now, and didn't so much as flinch as Bruce began spreading it around.  
"How have things been going this week?" Bruce asked as he looked at the ultrasound screen.  
"Pretty good." Natasha replied.  
"Is the baby kicking any more than last week?" He asked, finally turning to look at Natasha.  
"A little. I get about 4 or 5 good jabs to my guts every day."  
Bruce nodded. "Is that the only movement you can feel?"  
"Not really. I feel her moving around a bit. It's almost like she's being careful, like she's trying not to make me uncomfortable." Natasha said, feeling ridiculous at her words.  
"I guess she's listening to me when we have our nightly conversations." Clint said, teasing Natasha slightly.  
"She?" Bruce asked, laughter in his voice. "Have you guys decided it's a girl?"  
"Not really, you know we'll be happy with a boy or girl. It's just a habit by now." Natasha replied. "What are the chances you can tell us gender today?"  
"Maybe." Bruce said, turning his focus back to the screen.  
"Well, there's the face... and a hand, almost like your baby is waving to you." Bruce murmured as he moved the wand around on Natasha's stomach as he tried to get a better view inside her womb. "Would you like to see if your baby's being cooperative? Or do you want to wait until delivery?"  
Natasha and Clint shared a look quickly before Natasha turned back to Bruce.  
"Now, if it's possible."  
"Let's find out." Bruce said, once again turning back to the screen.  
"Alright... no, baby, that doesn't help me see... that's slightly better... ah, there we go." Bruce finally said, sounding proud of himself.  
"Well?" Clint asked, sounding like the stress of waiting was too much for him.  
Bruce chuckled as he turned back to his friends. "It looks like you're having a girl. Congrats you two."  
Clint smiled and kissed Natasha's head. Natasha didn't say anything, but Clint didn't miss the single tear that trickled from her eye. He wiped it away from her face before Bruce could see, and she gave him a grateful smile.  
Bruce handed Natasha a towel to wipe her stomach with while he put away the ultrasound. When she was finished, Natasha pulled her shirt back down and sat up. Bruce could tell something was going on in her mind, so after a few more questions he left them alone in the room until they were ready to leave.  
As soon as the door was closed, Clint wrapped his arms around Natasha's shoulders and pulled her into his body.  
"What is it, Tasha? I thought you wanted a daughter."  
"I do." Natasha cried, her voice slightly muffled by his shirt.  
"Then what's wrong?"  
"Nothing!" Natasha said, pulling back to look at Clint. "Absolutely nothing is wrong."  
Clint smiled at her as he leaned in and kissed her softly. "You ready to go?" He asked.  
"Yeah."  
Natasha stood and followed Clint from the room. As they walked to the elevator, Clint wrapped an arm around her waist and rested both his hands on her stomach.

* * *

"What about Ashleigh?" Clint asked.  
"No." Natasha replied.  
Clint looked down at Natasha's head where it rested against his chest. They were sitting on their bed, Clint's back against the headboard, Natasha's head against his chest while she sat between his legs, figuring out possible baby names.  
"What's wrong with Ashleigh?" He asked.  
"I don't want a mainstream name."  
"We'd spell it differently."  
"It's boring, Clint. This is our one shot to have a baby. I don't want her to have a common name."  
Clint laughed slightly and leaned down to kiss her head.  
"What suggestions do you have?" He finally asked as he traced patterns on her bare stomach.  
Natasha looked down at his hands as they traced over her bump. Unlike many pregnant women, Natasha didn't mind her stretch marks in the slightest. Whenever she could, Natasha walked around in a sports bra and leggings or sweatpants, enjoying the sight of her growing stomach sticking out.  
"Tasha?"  
"Huh? Oh, what did you ask?"  
Clint laughed again. "I asked if you had any ideas."  
"Oh- well..."  
"Well?"  
"Stop pressuring me, Clint!" She said in mock exasperation.  
"Sorry, Tash."  
"Well, I was thinking something kind of old-fashioned, but still a little modern."  
"Like what?"  
"Um, Elizabeth?"  
"Way too common."  
"Ok, Alexandra."  
"Nah. If her name's going to be anything like that, I'd prefer Alexandria."  
"I kind of like that. Annabelle?"  
"Sounds snotty. Our baby bird won't be snotty."  
Natasha laughed. "Ok."  
"Oh, Tasha can her name be Alexandria? Now that I think about that, I really like it. Alexandria Barton."  
Natasha laughed again, longer this time. "I think that's ok, Clint. I actually like it too."  
"Good. So it's settled."  
"Almost."  
"Almost?"  
"We need a middle name." Natasha said, turning her head slightly to look at him.  
"Oh. Any ideas?"  
"Why am I doing all the work?" Natasha asked in mock annoyance.  
"Hey! I picked her first name. It's your turn."  
Natasha sighed but wiggled slightly to get more comfortable before leaning into Clint once more. "Alright, if you say so."  
"I do. Now, come on. Ideas."  
"Hush." Natasha said with a laugh. "How about...Marie."  
"No. Every other person's middle name in Marie. You want something uncommon."  
"Fine. What about Rose?"  
"No, no flowers."  
"Claire?"  
"Eh, maybe."  
"What about..."  
"What about what, Tasha?"  
"Hope?" Natasha asked softly.  
"Is that what you want?" Clint asked, his tone matching Natasha's.  
"I don't know. I thought I did, but Claire sounds better."  
"I like them both, honestly. Whichever one you want."  
"Claire. Hope was going to be a reminder of what she means to us, but we'll know. Wouldn't we?"  
"Of course we will, Tasha. We'll always know what she means to us."  
"Ok. Alexandria Claire Barton. I like it."  
"Me too."  
"Can we sleep now?"  
"You can. I'm not tired, but I'll stay here with you. Ok?"  
"Ok." Natasha moved out from between Clint's legs and shifted so that she was lying on her pillow. Or Clint's chest, depending on how you looked at it. Clint wrapped his arm around Natasha's shoulders and laid his other hand on her bump, rubbing gentle circles on it until she fell asleep. Despite telling her that he wasn't tired, Clint followed her into sleep moments later.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked this! I think I might be getting close to the end. Just as an FYI, Natasha's about 5 months pregnant here, even if that means they wouldn't have found out the gender yet. Oh well, I'm not a doctor, I don't really have to get it perfect, do I?  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

"Baby bird?" Clint whispered softly, lips pressed against Natasha's bump.  
It's late, somewhere around 2 in the morning, and their daughter is keeping Natasha awake. 6 months into the pregnancy, and it seems that their baby has decided to start moving around more, though still not as much as normal.  
Of course, to Natasha, and her bladder, it still felt like too much moving. And it quickly became evident that the only way to quickly calm down her kicking was for Clint to talk to her.  
"I know you're getting excited, and I know it has to be cramped in there, but you need to settle down, ok?"  
He was answered with a sharp kick, and Natasha gasped in surprise.  
"That's not really what I meant, kid." She mumbled, rubbing the top of her stomach soothingly.  
"Baby bird, Mama needs to get some sleep, and if you keep kicking, that won't happen."  
Another kick answered his plea, and Natasha groaned softly in pain.  
"I'm trying, Tasha." Clint said, giving her a sad look.  
"I know. I just can't figure out why she's kicking this much now. She used to keep it to just during the day. Why is she changing it tonight?"  
"I wish I knew, Tash. You want me to call Bruce and ask him for tips?"  
Natasha paused. On the one hand, she was sure Bruce was either sleeping or working and she'd just had an appointment yesterday. On the other, she really wanted to get some sleep.  
"Ask JARVIS if he's awake. If he is, go ahead and call him."  
Clint nodded and left the room. They'd had JARVIS disabled in their bedroom a while ago, just so they could have some privacy.  
5 minutes later, Clint came back in and set his phone next to the bed.  
"Anything?" Natasha asked hopefully.  
"He said to try a warm bath. What do you think?"  
Natasha shrugged and nodded and held out her hands for Clint to help her up. Clint smiled as he helped her up and followed her to the bathroom. He started the water while Natasha pulled off her bra and panties. When Clint turned around, he was slightly surprised to see her state of undress.  
"Oh! Um, I'll just leave you..."  
Clint started on his way past her, but Natasha reached out and grabbed his wrist.  
"Aren't you gonna stay with me?" She asked through lidded eyes.  
"Tasha, this is supposed to make baby bird stop kicking. It's not another chance for us to have sex."  
"Come on, Clint. Baths are no fun if you're not sitting in the tub with me."  
Clint sighed, but he couldn't deny that he wanted to spend this time with Natasha and their baby. He undressed quickly and sat in the tub with his back pressed to one end. When he was settled, Natasha climbed in and settled between his legs as she leaned against his chest. Clint rested his hands on her bump and stroked gently.  
"Is it helping any?" He whispered into her ear.  
"A little. She's still kind of jumpy, but she's calmer too."  
Clint kissed her shoulder and reached over to grab a washcloth and the body wash that was resting next to the tub. He put some soap on the cloth and began to gently wash Natasha's stomach, pressing kisses to her shoulders and the back of her neck as he went. He rinsed off her stomach when he was done, and didn't miss the sigh of pleasure that escaped Natasha's mouth.  
When he was completely done, he reclined slightly and Natasha melted into his chest. Her hands covered his where they traced patterns on her bump and she entwined their fingers.  
"She still kicking around?"  
"Nope, just getting comfortable." Natasha replied.  
Clint kissed Natasha's cheek. "Let me know when you want to go back to bed, ok?"  
Natasha nodded as she let her eyes drift shut.  
30 minutes later, Clint realized that Natasha had fallen asleep.  
"Tasha, come on." He whispered, stroking her cheek.  
"Hmm?" Natasha mumbled.  
"Come on, Tash, bedtime."  
"Kay." Natasha leaned forward so Clint could climb out. He grabbed a towel and dried himself out before turning back to Natasha. He lifted her from the tub and dried her off carefully. When it was obvious that She was too tired to walk back to bed, Clint lifted her into his arms and carried her to bed. He managed to wake her up enough to pull on a pair of his boxers and a bra. Natasha laid down and was asleep instantly.  
Clint pulled on a pair of boxers and got into bed next to her. He laid so his face was next to their baby and kissed the bump softly.  
"Bedtime, Baby bird. You've done so well, staying in Mama's tummy this long. what do you say you stay in there for this week? Think you can do that?" When there was no kick to answer him, Clint smiled and kissed Natasha's stomach. "Thank you, Baby Bird. Mama and Papa love you."  
With one last kiss, Clint moved so his head was on his pillow and scooted closer to Natasha as he pulled her into his arms.  
"I love you, Tasha." He whispered before he fell asleep.

* * *

**I don't know if a bath would help at all, but whatever. Also, Natasha's about 6 months pregnant here, just so you know. I think this is going to end up being 10 chapters, so four more after this.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

"Clint, when are you going to get the crib set up?" Natasha asked.  
"Um, soon?"  
"Clint. I'm 7 months pregnant."  
"I know, Tasha."  
"She'll be here any day, Clint."  
"I know, Tasha."  
"She'll need somewhere to sleep."  
"I know, Tasha."  
Suddenly, Natasha threw one of her shoes at Clint, hitting him in the chest.  
"Ow! What the hell, Tasha?!"  
"Stop acting like you don't give a shit!" Natasha yelled.  
"What? I'm not!"  
"Why don't you want our daughter to have a place to sleep?" Natasha continued as though he hadn't spoken.  
Clint walked from their bedroom to where Natasha was sitting in their closet and stopped in the doorway so he could look at her.  
"Natasha, I never said that!"  
"Then why isn't the crib set up?"  
"Because I had to wait for Tony to have enough free time to help me."  
"And he hasn't yet?" Natasha asked accusingly.  
"He has. But you said you wanted Steve to finish painting her nursery first."  
"Why hasn't he finished yet?"  
"Because you only told him two days ago what you wanted to have on the walls, and he told you it would take him until tomorrow to finish it. And it'll take a day to dry. So tomorrow, Tony and I are going to put all the furniture together, and we're moving it in the day after."  
"Oh. Ok."  
"Ok?" Clint asked, stepping closer to his wife.  
"Yeah. Sorry I threw my shoe at you."  
"It's ok, Tash."  
Clint came to sit on the floor next to her and kissed her softly. His hand stroked her bump and he got a kick in response.  
"Clint?" Natasha asked softly.  
"Yeah, Tasha?"  
"What- what if..."  
"What if what?" Clint asked, smiling at Natasha.  
"What if I'm not ready for her?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"I just realized today that Bruce expects her to be born in the next couple weeks. I'm not sure I'm ready for that."  
"Why?"  
"She'll be so tiny, Clint. Something could happen."  
"Except that Bruce said any time after 21 weeks will give her a good shot at being perfectly fine. You're at 28 today."  
"I know, but-"  
"But nothing, Tash. Stop worrying, please. She might be small, but she's got our genes, so she'll be a fighter. And Bruce said that at this point, every extra day she stays in there, makes her chances of being born healthy even better."  
Natasha nodded as she wrapped her arms around Clint's neck and hugged him tightly.  
"Are you almost done in here?" Clint asked.  
"Yeah. I'm done now actually."  
Clint nodded and stood up before offering his hand to pull her to her feet. They left their bedroom and headed to the living room. Just as they arrived, the elevator opened, and Tony stepped out.  
"Hey there, Legolas, Spidey. I had free time today, so I decided to come help set up baby stuff."  
Clint looked to Natasha and after she nodded, he turned back to Tony.  
"Thanks, Tony. We can start in a second." Clint said as he let Natasha get settled on the couch before laying a blanket over her. JARVIS started a movie for her, and Natasha was thoroughly engrossed within minutes.  
"JARVIS, please don't play _Up, _no matter how much she begs." Clint said.  
"Certainly, sir." The AI responded.  
Clint smiled and kissed Natasha's head before leading Tony down the hall. The baby furniture was placed in the other spare room, so Tony and Clint went to work. They could hear Steve in the nursery painting and humming.  
The men started with the crib, since Natasha deemed it the most important.  
All the furniture was made with dark wood that Clint and Natasha hoped would accent the theme they'd picked for the nursery. When the crib was finished, Tony asked JARVIS to send Pepper up, and when she arrived, They asked her to put the sheets on while they made the changing table. The sheets Natasha and Clint had picked were white with Pooh Bears in every manner thinkable. There was a soft blanket with a sleeping baby Pooh Bear embroidered in the corner with an 'A' on Pooh's blanket. After Pepper was done, she went to watch movies with Natasha while Clint and Tony struggled with the changing table. When they were done, Steve came out of the nursery looking for Clint.  
"Hey, Clint."  
"Hi, Steve. Everything going ok?"  
"Yeah, that's actually what I was coming to tell you. I'm almost done, so you might be able to move the furniture in tonight or tomorrow."  
"Really? Sweet, thanks, Buddy."  
"Don't mention it. You guys need any help in here? I need to let the paint dry for a little bit before I can finish."  
"I think we're almost done with this. Would you mind starting on the dresser?"  
"Sure."  
While the men worked on the furniture, they talked about various things, mainly Tony and Pepper's upcoming wedding. Of course, in order for them to actually get married, Tony had to work up the nerves to ask Pepper to marry him.  
Around noon, Pepper came to get the men for lunch, and they all sat around the TV to eat together. Bruce joined them during a break from his research. They talked and laughed as they ate, mocking each other and occasionally throwing chips at each other. When they were done, Bruce took all the dishes to their kitchen and placed them in the dish washer. While everyone was getting ready to get back to what they were doing, Natasha felt a particularly sharp kick.  
"Oh!" She gasped, her hand going to her stomach.  
"Nat?" Pepper asked.  
"Ow." Natasha said, her hand rubbing on her stomach to try to relieve some of the pain.  
"Tasha? What happened?" Clint asked, coming to squat next to her.  
"Just a sharp kick, I'm fine." She said, smiling at Clint. She tried to relax back into the couch, but the movement caused a sharp jab of pain to coarse through her and she winced in response.  
"Tasha, breathe." Clint said as he brought his hand to rest next to hers and rubbed gently.  
"What happened?" Bruce asked as he came back in.  
"Tasha said the baby kicked really hard. I think she's just having trouble getting comfortable again." Clint replied.  
"Can you stand up, Natasha?" Bruce asked.  
Natasha nodded and gripped Clint's hand. She gritted her teeth as she leaned on him until she was standing. She heard Clint gasp, and when she turned around, she saw a small pool of blood on the couch.  
"Bruce?" She asked, her voice close to breaking.  
"Clint, can you carry her to medical please?"  
Clint nodded and pulled Natasha into his arms.  
"You'll be fine, Natasha." Bruce said as he followed them from their floor.

JARVIS seemed to sense that something urgent was happening, and the elevator got to the medical level far quicker than it ever had. They went into the nearest room and Clint helped Natasha onto the table while Bruce set up the ultrasound machine.  
While Bruce looked around, Natasha held Clint's hand tightly and refused to look at the screen. She kept her eyes locked on Clint's and he followed suit.  
"Well, from what I see here, it's time to get your daughter out." Bruce said, trying to make it sound less scary than it was.  
"Bruce, what happened?" Natasha asked, still not looking at him.  
Bruce sighed before he answered. "The placenta detached."  
"WHAT?!" Natasha shrieked.  
"It's fine, she's fine. It's not a total detachment, which means we have time to get you to a hospital, where you'll be taken care of better. We're only set up here to deal with a natural birth."  
Natasha nodded at Clint. He kissed her head and picked her up again as he followed Bruce from the room and into the elevator. JARVIS had already called an ambulance and was told to tell the rest of the team what was going on only after Clint, Natasha, and Bruce left.  
They arrived at their personal garage just as the ambulance turned the corner.  
"I knew it was smart of him to build the tower by a hospital." Clint murmured.  
He carried Natasha into the ambulance and laid her on the stretcher. He was about to sit next to the paramedic when Bruce's hand on his shoulder stopped him.  
"Bruce, I'm not leaving her."  
"And I'd never ask you to. Go sit up front, I'll stay back here with her, ok?"  
Clint turned to look at Natasha, and she nodded. He kissed her head before leaving the back of the ambulance and getting into the cab while Bruce climbed into the back.  
They started driving right away, and Clint could hear Natasha moaning in pain.  
"Tasha, talk to me." Clint said as he tried to keep the nerves out of his voice.  
"It hurts, Clint."  
"More or less than a bullet?" Clint asked, earning a shocked look from the driver.  
"More."  
"How much more?"  
"A fucking fuck ton more."  
Clint was about to ask another question when Natasha cried out.  
"Bruce?"  
"I'm trying to make her comfortable, but I need you to distract her."  
"How?"  
"However you think it'll work."  
"Ok. Umm... oh, I know. Tasha, what was the best prank we played on base?"  
He heard a noise he assumed was her trying to laugh before it turned into a groan. "Umm... water balloons?" She asked.  
"Tell me about it."  
"It was 2 years after we became partners. We'd been benched for being idiots. We were stuck on base for a month. After a week, we were bored. You managed to get water balloons."  
"And?"  
"And we filled them. We went around in the vents and dropped them on juniors."  
"Yeah we did."  
"We spent 3 days sneaking around until Phil found the vent cover we used."  
Before she could continue or Clint could ask another question, they arrived at the hospital and the doors were opened and everyone got out of the ambulance. Clint ran to her side and held her hand tightly.  
"Sir, you can't be in there with him." A doctor told him.  
"She's my wife. I need to stay with her."  
"I know she's your wife, and I know you're worried. But you can't go in there."  
"She can't be alone."  
"She won't be. She'll have doctors-"  
"That's not what I meant! She doesn't trust people, especially not doctors."  
As if to prove his point, Natasha yelled for the doctors to leave her alone.  
"Bruce-"  
"I'll go in there with her. I won't be able to do anything, but it'll help, won't it?"  
"I think so."  
"Ok. I'll be in there until you can."  
Clint nodded as Bruce entered the room they'd taken Natasha into. When the door opened, he heard her scream his name, and it tore at his heart. He jerked away when the doctor placed her hands on him, shocking her. He pulled his cell phone out, and jabbed the buttons until he found the number he wanted.  
Two rings later, the phone was answered.  
"This better be good, Barton."  
"Sir, you need to send Sharon to the hospital by the tower."  
"Why?" Fury asked.  
"Because Natasha's here and there are issues. I can't be in there and Banner can't do anything. And Sharon's the only other doctor we trust."  
"Alright. I'll have her on a chopper to the building in 3 minutes."  
"Get her out now." Clint said before he hung up.  
10 minutes later, Natasha had been taken to the maternity level after they determined that there was enough time to wait for Sharon to arrive, since none of the doctors wanted to deal with a patient that didn't trust them. Clint was allowed into her room, which was helping to keep her calm, which in turn helped keep the baby calm.  
15 minutes later, Clint heard footsteps running down the hall and moments later Sharon burst into the room.  
"What they hell, Romanoff?" She asked in mock annoyance. "I thought we agreed you'd stop scaring the shit out of me!"  
"Sorry." Natasha mumbled before grunting in pain.  
"Right, baby time. Let's get you to an OR."  
Sharon got one of the doctors to find them an OR while she changed into scrubs. Clint went with them as they raced down the hallway to the OR, glad that he'd be able to stay in the room with her. When they arrived at the OR door, there was another doctor coming from another direction with another patient.  
"Hey, I need the OR." The doctor called.  
Sharon rolled her eyes before answering back. "What do you have?"  
"Gall stones. She's been waiting a week to get them out."  
"Detached placenta." Sharon replied. "We win."  
The doctor was about to say something, when the patient stopped him. "She goes first. I can wait."  
Sharon nodded in thanks before continuing to push Natasha in. Clint smiled and thanked the woman.  
"You're welcome. I hope your child will be born healthy."  
"Thank you." Clint murmured before following Natasha and Sharon into the room.  
"Barton, go wash your hands." Sharon orders, and after Clint complies and when he's finished, Sharon gave him scrubs to put on. When he was done, he sat on the stool by Natasha's head. The anesthesiologist tried to make him leave, at least until he'd administered the anesthesia, but Sharon cut in before Clint could say anything.  
"This is her husband. She has trust issues, severe ones at that. The fact that she's letting anyone besides her husband and I in this room, not to mention that she's letting a complete stranger put drugs into her system tells me how worried she is. He stays."  
Sharon might have been slightly small, but she scared people, and the anesthesiologist was no exception. Clint rested his hand on Natasha's forehead and kissed her gently.  
"Alright, you two. Let's get your kid born." Sharon said as she smiled at Natasha.  
Natasha grabbed Clint's hand in her own and squeezed tightly. After a moment, she nodded, and only then did Sharon start.

* * *

**Oh, drama, how lovely to see you again. What did you guys think?  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Natasha and Clint were in the NICU as soon as they were allowed. The rest of the Avengers weren't allowed in, but Andria's cot was still by the window, so they could see her from the other side.  
"Romanoff, you need to sign these if you want to go home." Sharon said as she entered.  
Natasha sighed but handed the baby to Clint. She looked over the papers Sharon had handed her. "Is there anything I need to know?" Natasha asked.  
"Not really. Don't do anything stupid. They say for a month, I'd say for you, 2 weeks."  
"Anything else?"  
"Make sure you sleep. If anything starts hurting, and I mean normal people pain, not Natasha pain, find Bruce and he'll see if I need to come check you out."  
"Thanks. When can we take her home?"  
"The doctors want her to be at least 5 pounds, and she needs to pass a few tests before she can go."  
"How long?" Clint asked.  
"It depends. She gained a tenth of a pound over night, so hopefully not longer than a couple weeks, if not less."  
They were silent for a moment before Natasha decided to ask the question that had been burning in her mind from the beginning. "Do you know how much she's like me?"  
"Not yet. How quickly she gains the proper weight will give me some clue. There are tests we can do, but not until she's about a year or two old."  
"So we wait." Natasha said simply.  
"For now, that's all we can do. But two years of not knowing, at least not for sure, won't do much, will it?"  
"I don't know. I don't think so. She might just age differently."  
"But we can deal with that, Tasha." Clint reminded her.  
Natasha smiled at her husband. "We can."  
Sharon left them alone and went to talk to Bruce about his plan for when Andria was allowed to leave.  
"Oh, someone's hungry." Clint said as he handed his daughter to Natasha.  
Natasha pretended to be annoyed but couldn't wipe the smile from her face. She took the blanket Clint offered and draped it over her shoulder so she wouldn't have to move, and began feeding her daughter.  
When Andria was done and Natasha had burped her, she checked the monitor and noticed that her daughter's temperature was slightly lower than it should be.  
"Shirt off?" Clint asked.  
Natasha smirked and nodded, watching as Clint pulled his shirt off. When he was settled in the rocking chair next to Natasha, she handed Andria over to him, and watched with a smile as he situated their daughter so that she was curled into his chest.  
Dr. Walker came in a few minutes later and saw the family sitting by the window.  
"You guys sure you don't have other kids? You're really good at all of this."  
Natasha laughed. "Positive."  
Dr. Walker made her way over to check on Andria, smiling when the baby looked at her.  
"You need me to put her down?" Clint asked.  
"Nah, you're good. We already weighed her this morning, I just need to check her eyes. She's fine where she is."  
Clint nodded and shifted his hold slightly. When Dr. Walker was done checking Andria's eyes, she took out her chart and made a few notes.  
"I'd let you take her home now, if I could. You two are absolute naturals at this, and from what I hear, you've got a doctor living with you."  
"Trust me, we're not ready for her quite yet." Natasha said.  
Dr. Walker laughed as she finished with the chart. After a few more silly faces to Andria, she left.

The rest of the day was spent in the NICU with Andria, passing her back and forth, depending on what she needed. When 6:00 came that night, Sharon came in and told Clint and Natasha to go home. They agreed, reluctantly, and after about one hundred kisses, they left their daughter with Sharon.  
"I'll stay tonight." Steve said as they left, earning a grateful smile from Clint and Natasha.  
Pepper drove them home, and escorted them to their floor.  
"Oh, shit. Clint, we need to finish the furniture before Andria comes home." Natasha said as soon as they stepped onto their floor.  
"Andria?" Pepper asked.  
"Oh, yeah. That's what we decided to call Alexandria." Clint said. "and you're right, Tasha. I'll see if I can take care of that tomorrow. You can go to the hospital first thing and I'll come over when I'm done?"  
Natasha sighed. "I don't want you to feel like you're missing out on spending time with her-"  
"I won't, don't worry." Clint cut in. "Besides, we need to get it done."  
They'd arrived at the door to their room, and Pepper set the suitcase down.  
"Before I go, I wanted to show you guys something." Pepper said.  
Natasha sighed. She was tired and wanted to sleep, but she was curious about what Pepper had in store for them.  
Without waiting for a confirmation from either of them, Pepper led Natasha and Clint down the hall to the nursery.  
"Just so you know for tomorrow, Clint. When you guys went to the hospital, Steve and Tony moved all the furniture into the nursery, just so you'd know where it is. I don't think they had time to finish it though."  
"That's fine. Thanks Pepper." Clint said.  
Pepper nodded and left them at the door to the nursery.  
"Wanna make sure everything's in there?" Clint asked.  
Natasha shrugged. "I guess. That way you'll know for tomorrow."  
Clint kissed Natasha's head and smiled as he opened the door. He reached out and flicked on the light and stopped in his tracks.  
"Whoa." He whispered.  
"Wha- oh." Natasha said.

The walls and ceiling of the nursery were just like Natasha had hoped they would be. They were painted a deep navy blue that matched the night sky, and Steve had painted different constellations on the walls and ceiling, giving it the effect that the room was outside. The constellations wouldn't move, of course, so they;d only be correct for a little bit each year, but they were still breathtaking.  
Even more breathtaking was the fact that not only had the furniture been put in the room, someone- most likely Steve and Tony- had put everything roughly where Clint and Natasha wanted it.  
The crib was in the corner farthest from the door, just below the windowsill- which was high enough to ensure that Andria didn't hit her head on it. The chaining table was on the other side of the window, but there was still enough room between it and the wall made entirely of windows- a perk of having a corner room. The dresser was on the same wall as the crib, and a book shelf sat next to it. There was a rocking chair pushed against the remaining wall, along with the beanbag Clint had insisted on buying so he could sit with his baby bird.  
Above the dresser, Steve had painted Alexandria's name in Silver and outlined it in white, making it pop out. The dresser and bookshelf had been filled with the various things Natasha and Clint had bought, along with some pictures of them- and a few empty picture frames- that they hand't noticed being taken.  
One picture in particular caught Natasha's attention. It was her and Clint in the common area. Natasha was sitting between Clint's legs with her back pressed against his chest. She was wearing a black sports bra and black leggings, and her bump was visible, but not as large as it had been only a few days ago. Clint had his hands resting on her bump, and Natasha's hands covered his. They were both looking down at her stomach, and Clint had his lips pressed to the back of her shoulder. The picture was fairly upclose, making Natasha wonder how she hadn't heard someone get that close. But at the same time, she didn't really care, because it was such a heartwarming picture of them.  
"Clint, look." Natasha said as she lifted the picture to Clint's eye level.  
"Perfect." Clint whispered as he kissed her cheek.  
"You ready to go to sleep?" He asked.  
Natasha nodded and put the picture down. They left the nursery together, and Clint flicked off the lights. When they got to their bedroom, they changed into their pajamas and got into bed, happy to finally be home again.

After a few minutes of silence, Natasha spoke.  
"Clint?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Are you sleeping?"  
"Almost. What do you need?"  
"Nothing."  
"Then what's wrong?"  
"I miss her."  
Clint chuckled softly. "I know you do. But we'll see her in a few hours, and Sharon's with her now. We need to get as much sleep as possible while she's in the NICU, so we aren't as tired when she finally comes home."  
Natasha thought this over for a moment. "You're far to good at finding the bright side sometimes, Hawkboy."  
Clint laughed and kissed Natasha. "But that's why you love me."  
"One of the reasons." Natasha replied.  
"Sleep, Tasha. We'll see our Baby Bird soon enough."  
Natasha smiled as she kissed her husband one more time. Then she rolled over and let him wrap his arms around her waist. They were out within seconds.

* * *

**One more chapter after this! Are you excited? I am. :)  
I'm planning a sequel of sorts to this called- at least for now- Hope Carries On. Go to my profile page to vote in the poll of which story you want me to start/continue to cast your vote.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

The day she turned a month old, Alexandria Barton was allowed to leave the hospital. It would have happened a week earlier, but she'd caught a small bug and ended up losing about half a pound. Regardless of that though, she was healthy.  
Clint was signing the last of the papers while Natasha held a cooing Andria in her arms.  
"It's finally real, Clint." She said, smiling at her husband.  
"Yeah it is, Tash. You ready to do this?"  
"No, but I don't think I'll ever be completely ready."  
Clint smiled as he signed the last line of the last sheet.  
"There. We're good to go." Clint said.  
Natasha stood and shifted Andria slightly so she could grab her purse. Clint picked up the diaper bag and slung it over his shoulder as he turned to face his girls.  
"Let's blow this popsicle stand." He said.  
"Not so fast." A voice said from the door.  
Natasha turned and smiled when she saw who it was.  
"Did the two of you really think I was going to let you take her without seeing her one last time?" Dr. Walker asked.  
Natasha smiled as she held her daughter out to their new friend. Over the last month, Dr. Walker- or Lizzie as she'd demanded they call her- had become another aunt to Andria. When Sharon had been called back to the hellicarrier a few days after Andria was born, Lizzie had been the one to stay with Andria all night. She'd held her when the little girl woke up and her parents were gone. She'd kissed all the needle marks better when more tests had to be run in the middle of the night. But most of all, she'd fought to allow Clint and Natasha to stay in the NICU overnight the first night Andria was sick.  
Lizzie smiled as she took the baby into her arms.  
"You be good, Missy. You're parents are pros, but they need their sleep still, so be good, ok?"  
Andria just looked up at the doctor and cooed some more. Lizzie gave her a kiss on her forehead and handed her back to Natasha.  
"Thank you, Lizzie, for everything." Natasha said.  
"Don't mention it. It's nice to see a baby make it out of here every once in a while. Especially one as cute as her."  
Clint laughed as he wrapped one arm around Lizzie. "We'll bring her back to visit." He said.  
"Darn right you will."  
With one last round of hugs and smiles, Natasha and Clint left the NICU with their daughter, her first time out of the unit. When they exited the doors, they weren't the least bit surprised to see Tony and Steve in their armor waiting for them. Thor had even come back from New Mexico a few days ago and was in his battle gear with Mjolnir held loosely in his hand. Natasha and Clint smiled at their mix of friends as they started down the hall.  
"Bruce is getting the car, and Pep's at the tower with Jane getting everything else ready for Baby bird." Tony said as they entered the elevator.  
"Thanks." Clint said as he wrapped an arm around Natasha's waist, pulling her and Andria slightly closer to his body.  
The nurses at the front desk waved goodbye to them as they left, having grown used to seeing them come to the hospital everyday. When they exited, Bruce already had the car parked in the loading zone and was standing with his back against the side.  
"Hey guys." He said in greeting as he opened the door. Steve pulled a lever on the side of the seat and it shot forward so that he and Thor could climb into the third row. When they were situated, and with a surprising amount of legroom, given that from the outside the car looked like a regular SUV, Bruce pushed the seat back into position. Clint walked around the car and got in and set the diaper bag on the ground. Natasha handed Andria to Tony- since Bruce still refused to hold her- and climbed in before turning back to Tony so he could hand her daughter back. Natasha carefully set Andria in her car seat so that she faced back toward Steve and Thor, and buckled her in. Tony closed the door for her before he and Bruce got in, with Bruce driving, since tony refused to take the suit off.  
Bruce drove carefully, but not as slowly as Clint would have, and Natasha allowed herself to relax.  
"Tony?" Clint asked.  
"Hmm?"  
"Is this car new?"  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I had it specially made for Baby Bird. Bullet proof doors and windows, blast proof floor, you know."  
"Is it really necessary?" Natasha asked. She still had a hard time believing their enemies would attack a child. Kids were seen as off limits, even to the most notorious of their enemies. The Red Room was the only exception to that rule, but after Clint killed Shostakov, the Red Room was gone.  
"Of course it is." Tony said. "I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't necessary. It's modeled after the Pope-mobile, you know."  
Clint sighed and shook his head. He turned slightly, and caught sight of Steve and Thor behind him and was unable to stop his laugh.  
"What?" Natasha asked, looking to Andria to see if she'd done anything funny.  
"Apparently babies are capable of making grown men look like idiots." Clint said as he jerked his thumb back to where Steve and Thor sat behind them. Natasha turned until she could see her teammates and couldn't help her own laugh.  
Steve and Thor were both staring at Andria, and they both had the most ridiculous looks on their faces.  
"Wow, guys." Natasha said. "Real mature."  
They stopped immediately, causing Andria to let out a small noise of what could only be seen as protest. Natasha and Clint laughed together at that, and soon Steve and Thor were laughing as well.  
"I think we missed something." Bruce muttered to Tony.  
Tony nodded but didn't reply.

When they arrived back at the tower, Bruce pulled into the private garage and shut the car off. Natasha Climbed out and went around to Clint's side where she took Andria from him after he unbuckled her. He pulled the top part of her car seat off, leaving him with just the carrier which they'd leave on their floor. There was another in the garage, in case they ever forgot to bring it down with them.  
Steve and Thor crawled out of the car and the five of them went to the elevator while Bruce tried to convince Tony to take off his suit now that they were back at the tower.

Their first stop was the common floor where Pepper, Jane, and Darcy were waiting for them. Jane and Darcy had come back with Thor when he returned from New Mexico, and Clint and Natasha had instantly decided they like both girls. Steve also really liked Darcy, and they'd been on a total of two dates thus far, with three more scheduled for the upcoming week.  
"Welcome home!" Pepper said as they stepped off the elevator. She gave Natasha a big hug since Clint was currently holding the baby.  
"Pep, we've been home for nearly a month." Natasha reminded her friend.  
"I know. But I can't really give Andi a hug like that, can I?"  
"I would prefer you didn't. At least for now." Natasha replied as she hugged Jane and Darcy.

Andria was passed around the adults once Tony and Bruce arrived, minus the armor thankfully. Bruce still refused to hold Andria, worried he'd hurt her. That was apparently fine with Andria, since it meant more time getting to rest next to Tony's arc reactor, which had become mesmerizing to her the first time he'd been able to hold her a couple weeks before. It didn't take long for them to figure out that the soft humming noise was soothing to the little girl, and the fact that it made his chest slightly warmer than normal was an added benefit for when Andria's temperature dropped slightly.  
After about an hour, Andria was starting to fall asleep, so Clint and Natasha took her up to their room for a nap. They said goodbye to their friends, with a promise to let them know if they needed any help.  
When they stepped off the elevator at their floor, they went straight to Andria's room where Clint and Natasha had tweaked the furniture arrangement slightly. They laid her in her crib and covered her gently with the Pooh Bear blanket. They turned off the lights, smiling when the constellations began to glow in the dark, just as they'd intended for them to.  
Clint and Natasha went back to their room, where they's reinstalled JARVIS, and relaxed on the bed.  
"She's home, Clint." Natasha whispered.  
"She is."  
"Thank you, Clint. For everything."  
"You're welcome. I love you."  
"I love you too."

* * *

At two months, Andria was 10 pounds of the cutest thing Clint and Natasha- and any of the Avengers- had ever seen. Bruce still refused to hold her, but he showed no aversion to being next to her. Tony had finally worked up the guts to propose to Pepper, and just to mess with him she said no. Right before he went into a full fledged panic attack, Pepper had started laughing and after kissing him deeply for a moment, she gave her real answer. "Yes, you idiot."

* * *

At three months, Andria was doing as well as any three month old was, if not better. She was gaining weight as she should have been, but she still managed to remain slim. Her hair grew slightly, and began forming ringlets the color of fire. The color set off her gray eyes perfectly, and Natasha could get lost in her daughter's eyes. Clint had begun carrying a camera around with him just after Andria was born, and he snapped pictures of everything. They'd already filled up 3 baby books, and Clint intended to continue filling a book a month. At least until Andria either broke the camera or asked him to stop, whichever way she made he intention clear.

* * *

At four months, Andria's temper began to show up. It was little things, really. If she was woken up before she woke herself up, she'd be cross for a while, usually until her parents spent at least an hour tickling her. Clint and Natasha had been convinced to go on their first date night since she was born, and they left her with Tony and Pepper. They returned to Tony and Pepper's floor around 9:00 and after searching the entire floor, they found the three of them in Tony and Pepper's bed. The TV was on in the background, but what caught the assassins' attention was how the three people were arranged.  
Tony was flat on his back with his head on his pillow. Pepper was curled into his side with her head on his chest and her hand slightly below the arc reactor. Andria was lying on top of Tony's chest, her face right next to the arc reactor and her tiny hand holding onto Pepper's index finger. Tony's hand was resting on Andria's back to ensure that she didn't fall if she rolled.  
Clint pulled out his camera and snapped a picture. Pepper woke at the faint noise and after realizing who was there, she smiled.  
"Hi." She whispered as she lifted Andria off Tony's chest and passed her back to Natasha. Andria stirred slightly, but after a gentle back rub she was out again.  
"Everything go ok?" Clint asked.  
"Perfect." Pepper whispered back.  
With one last thanks, Natasha and Clint left to put their daughter to bed while Pepper laid back down in her previous position and was asleep in seconds.

* * *

At five months, Andria began laughing at random things. Her laugh sounded like bells, and it was Natasha's favorite sound. Steve and Darcy offered to watch her for Natasha and Clint's date night, and when they returned, the three of them were all lying on the floor. Steve was on his stomach with Andria lying on his back. Darcy was on her back with her head on Steve's shoulders and her hand resting on Andria's back, and they were all asleep. After waking Darcy to get their daughter back, Natasha and Clint left the new couple on the floor. It had taken some convincing, but Darcy had finally managed to convince Steve that she loved him, and not Captain America. Since then, they'd been nearly inseparable and had moved in together, even if it went against his upbringing.

* * *

At six months, Andria got her first teeth. It had been hell when they were coming in, since she'd also had an ear infection. Clint or Natasha ended up staying up at night with her while the other tried to sleep. Bruce had given her medicine for her ears, but Andria's new teeth made it painful for her to eat, and since the medicine needed to be taken with food, it was tricky to get it into her sometimes.  
She got over it though, and a few days later, she uttered her first word- птица. It meant bird in Russian, and the fact that she'd said it while looking at herself in the mirror as Natasha sat her on the bathroom counter to brush her hair told Clint and Natasha that she knew they called her Baby Bird.

* * *

At seven months, Andria's favorite words were птица, Mama, Papa, and mine.  
Thor proposed to Jane while she was holding Andria, and after Jane had accepted, Andria said mine quite loudly, causing all the adults to laugh. She refused to let go of Jane when she tried to kiss Thor, which clued the group into the fact that she was talking about Jane being hers.

* * *

At eight months, Andria was able to sit up by herself. The first time Natasha tried having Andria sit up, the little girl remained upright for 2 minutes before she began to fall backward. Before Natasha could do anything though, Andria managed to shift her weight, so that she fell forward instead, and got her hands in front of herself to lean on.  
"She's as graceful as her mama." Clint said as he watched, a smile spreading across his face. Natasha looked up at him and smiled before turning and scooping Andria into her arms. She threw the baby into the air lightly, causing delighted squeals to burst from Andria's mouth.

* * *

At nine months, Andria could walk, but preferred not to. She was fully capable of standing up without any assistance, but she'd look around herself before plopping back down. At first, Natasha had been worried, it had only seemed natural that since her daughter was doing everything else ahead of schedule, she should be walking earlier as well.  
It wasn't until one day that Natasha learned the truth. She and Andria were in their common room playing when Natasha's phone went off in the bedroom. After asking JARVIS to keep an eye on Andria, Natasha went to grab her phone. While she was in her room, JARVIS opened up a feed of the living room so she could keep an eye on Andria while she looked over the email Maria had sent her that needed an urgent response. She looked over and saw Andria reaching forward to try to grab the toy Natasha had been playing with. Andria's arms were too short to reach it though, so she gave up and looked slightly disgruntled. Natasha watched as her daughter looked around for a moment, and it finally occurred to Natasha that her daughter was looking to see if there were any adults around to either move her closer to the toy, or to bring the toy within her reach- since everyone knew that Andria hated having things given to her. She liked to work for them.  
After it became obvious to the little girl that no one was around to help her, she stood up as smoothly as she ever did and remained standing for a moment. Natasha was holding her breath by this point, hoping and praying that no one chose that moment to walk in.  
She was in luck. A moment later, Andria easily walked over to where the desired toy was and plopped herself down within reach of it and began to play.  
"JARVIS, please tell me you were able to record that."  
"Of course. Shall I save it?"  
"Always." Natasha said.  
When she finished the email, she returned to her daughter and they continued playing until Clint returned from training newbies and she showed him the video. He was ecstatic, to say the least.

* * *

At ten months, Clint went back into the field. He was only gone for two days, but it felt like an eternity to Natasha. Andria didn't seem to like Clint not being there, and she refused to let Natasha out of her sight. Andria would scream and cry if any of the other Avengers tried to hold her or if Natasha left the room for any period of time. It got to the point where Natasha set up a mini nest inside the bigger nest on her and Clint's bed, and allowed Andria to sleep there, since she wouldn't sleep anywhere else.  
Clint returned on schedule and walked into his bedroom to find his wife and daughter in their bed. He took a quick shower and after pulling on a pair of pajama pants, he climbed in behind Andria and fell asleep. When Natasha awoke a few hours later, she shifted Andria so she was lying on the bed without the mini nest. Natasha curled herself around her daughter and smiled when Clint reached his hand out to rest on her hip.  
They didn't leave their floor for the rest of the day.

* * *

At eleven months, Andria was walking more, though she still preferred to be carried. She was talking more as well, a mix of Russian and English, but she was able to communicate with her parents better without words than with them. It became normal for their floor to be quiet with only the sounds of laughter to break the periods of contented silence.

* * *

On Andria's 1st birthday, the Avengers gathered on Tony and Pepper's floor along with their significant others, plus Sharon, Lizzie, Fury, and Maria. The party was small but it was fun and Andria provided all the entertainment needed.  
As their friends played with their daughter, Clint and Natasha looked on with identical smiles on their faces.  
"Thank you, Clint." Natasha said as she leaned into her husband's embrace.  
Clint kissed her temple as he hugged her tighter.  
"For what, Tasha?"  
"For convincing me to keep her. For helping me see that we deserve to be happy."  
"That's what I'm here for, Tash. Always."  
They were silent for a moment before a thought hit Natasha.  
"We did it, Clint. We had a baby and we haven't screwed her up yet."  
Clint laughed. "Give us a little more time, Tash. I'm sure we'll figure out what we're doing wrong and she'll turn into a freak. It's just a matter of time." He said playfully.  
Natasha smiled up at him and leaned up for a soft kiss. When they parted, Clint wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her snuggly against his chest.  
They'd done it. They had their baby and made it out the other side. Sure, it had been terrifying as hell, but they'd done it. That's what really mattered, wasn't it?

* * *

**There's the end. I hope you guys liked this chapter, and I hope it was a good end for the story. Like I said at the beginning, it might be a while before the sequel is out, just because I have so much to work on.  
Please remember to go to my profile and take the poll I've posted there, I really love getting your opinions on things.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


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